Autosys Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. What Is A Job In Autosys ? Define It.

Answer :

A definition you create that instructs the system what command, executable, or batch file to run. A job is any single command, executable, script, or Windows batch file. Each job definition contains a variety of qualifying attributes, including the conditions specifying when and where a job should be run.

Question 2. How Will You Define/insert A Job In Autosys?

Answer :

There are two ways by which we can define a job in Autosys.

• Using the Graphical User Interface (GUI).
• Using the Job Information Language (JIL)

Question 3. What Is Jil In Autosys?

Answer :

JIL stands for Job Information Language.
JIL is a specification language, with its own syntax, that is used to describe when, where, and how a job should run. When you enter the jil command, you get the jil command prompt, at which you can enter the job definitions one line at a time using this special language. When you exit the jil command-line interface, the job definition is loaded into the database. Alternatively, you can enter the definition as a text file and redirect the file to the jil command. In this case, the jil command activates the language processor, interprets the information in the text file, and loads this information in the database.

Question 4. Explain Inactive Status In Autosys Jobs.

Answer :

The job has not yet been processed. Either the job has never been run, or its status was intentionally altered to turn off its previous completion status.

Question 5. Explain On_hold In Autosys?

Answer :

When a job is put on hold, it will not be run until it receives the JOB_OFF_HOLD event or FORCE START. ON_HOLD is equivalent to stop the current execution process. 

Example: There are 4 jobs, say Job A, Job B, Job C and Job D. Consider all these jobs reside in a box job named box_1. The box job is started now. After starting the box job user immediately realized that there is a mistake in command script name in Job C. So, he put the Job C ON HOLD before it starts. Thus, he ensures the job will run proper way.

Question 6. Explain On_ice In Autosys?

Answer :

This job is removed from all conditions and logic, but is still defined. Operationally, this condition is like deactivating the job. It will remain on ice until it receives the JOB_OFF_ICE event. 

Please remember that the job which is defined after the job ON_ICE, will immediately start even though some conditions are specified for that job with the previous one. This is the important note about ON_ICE.

Question 7. What Is The Difference Between On Hold And On Ice In Autosys?

Answer :

The difference between on hold and on ice is that when an on hold job is taken off hold, if its starting conditions are already satisfied, it will be scheduled to run, and it will run. On the other hand, if an on ice job is taken off ice, it will not start, even if its starting conditions are already satisfied. This job will not run until its starting conditions reoccur. The other major distinction is that jobs downstream from the job that is on ice will run as though the job succeeded. Whereas, all dependent jobs do not run when a job is in on hold—nothing downstream from this job will run.

Question 8. What Does The Job Term Activated Mean In Autosys?

Answer :

The top-level box that this job is in is now in the RUNNING state, but the job itself has not started yet. You can see the status of the job when you have just started the Box job of that particular job.

Question 9. What Is The Meaning Of The Job Status Starting In Autosys?

Answer :

The job is ready and going to start. The event processor has initiated the start job procedure with the remote agent

Question 10. Explain The Job Term Running In Autosys?

Answer :

The job is running. The job is processing data. The job will be in running status until it process the data. If the job is a box job, this value simply means that the jobs within the box are running. If it is a command or file watcher job, the value means that the process is actually running on the remote machine.

Question 11. When Will The Job Be Success In Autosys?

Answer :

If the job exited with an exit code 0, then that job is interpreted as success. However, a range of values up to the maximum exit code for success can be reserved for each job to be interpreted as success. If the job is a box job, this value means that all the jobs within the box have finished with the status SUCCESS (the default), or the Exit Condition for Box Success evaluated to true.

Question 12. When Will The Job Be Failure In Autosys?

Answer :

The job exited with an exit code greater than the maximum exit code for success. By default, any number greater than zero is interpreted as failure. If the job is a box job, a FAILURE status means either that at least one job within the box exited with the status FAILURE (the default), or that the Exit Condition for Box Failure evaluated to true. Unicenter AutoSys JM issues an alarm if a job fails.

Question 13. When Will Be The Job In Terminated Status In Autosys?

Answer :

A job can be terminated if a user sends a KILLJOB event or if it was defined to terminate if the box it is in failed. If the job itself fails, it has a FAILURE status, not a TERMINATED status. A job may also be terminated if it has exceeded the maximum runtime (term_run_time attribute, if one was specified for the job), or if it was killed from the command line through a UNIX kill command. Unicenter AutoSys JM issues an alarm if a job is terminated.

Question 14. Explain Job Restart In Autosys.

Answer :

The job was unable to start due to hardware or application problems, and has been scheduled to restart.

Question 15. Explain Que_wait Status In Autosys.

Answer :

The job can logically run (that is, all the starting conditions have been met), but there are not enough machine resources available. The job will start only if it has adequate resources to process.

Question 16. Sample Jil File In Autosys

Answer :

insert_job: jobname
job_type: c
box_name: which box holds this job
description: What the job is doing
machine: servername
permission: gx,wx
owner: account
command: batch_file or Script
std_out_file: "c:AutoSysLogTest.log"
std_err_file: "c:AutoSysLogTest.Err.log"
min_run_alarm: 0
max_run_alarm: 30
job_terminator: yes
box_terminator: yes

Question 17. What Is An Instance In Autosys?

Answer :

The term instance is used to represent a licensed version of Unicenter AutoSys JM and at least one client machine running a unique Remote Agent. In reality, the operation is likely to have dozens of Remote Agents communicating concurrently with the same database. Any status changes or service requests posted to the database are called Events.

Question 18. Graphical User Interface In Autosys

Answer :

The GUI lets you interactively set the attributes that describe when, where, and how a job should run. You create job definitions using the GUI Control Panel and the dialogs you can launch from it. 

The fields in the GUIs correspond to the AutoSys JIL sub-commands and attributes. In addition, from the GUI Control Panel, you can open applications that lets you define calendars, monitors, and reports, and let you monitor and manage jobs.

Question 19. What Are The Three Types Of Jobs In Autosys?

Answer :

There are three types of Unicenter AutoSys JM jobs:

1. Command - Execute a command. Generally a input file is given in which the required commands reside.
2. File Watcher - Special type of job in AutoSys. It will wait for a file. It will not start the job until the file arrives. This type of job will be helpful when you integrate your project from various modules.
3. Box - A box is a container of other jobs. A box does nothing in execution but it holds and preserves the jobs. In projects, start time is specified in Box jobs so that it will automatically starts once the time has arrived.

Question 20. Box Job Started But Inner Jobs Are Not Running In Autosys, Why?

Answer :

• Scenario 1: (Meeting dependency) Remember that even if the box job started, the inner jobs will only run when they satisfy all the conditions specified.For example let us take a box job A in which an inner job "a" resides. The job "a" has the dependency with a job "b" which resides in another box job B. So, "a" is scheduled to run after the job "b". Now, If box A is force started, job "a" will not start since it waits for job "b" to complete. Job "a" will start automatically once job "b" over.
• Scenario 2: (Meeting timelines) Consider several inner box jobs are defined under a super box job. The start time for the super box job is 10:00 and the start time for the inner jobs is 11:00. Now, if the super box job is started, will the inner box jobs run immediately ? No, they will not. Inner jobs obey the timing pattern strictly and they will start running once they meet the timelines.

Question 21. Box Job In Autosys Explain?

Answer :

• A Box job is a container of other jobs.
• A box job will do nothing in execution process but it can control the inner jobs when and how they should run. If a box job is started, it will start the inner jobs automatically.
• Generally, the jobs which do similar operations or generic functions will be grouped together under a box job.
• We can set the start time and run calendars for a box job to control the execution.

Feature of a Box job:

• When a box job is in running status (After starting), it will be in success state only if all of its inners jobs succeeded.
• The box job fails when any one of the inner job fails.
• A box job can contain other box jobs. The box job which is superior to all other box jobs is called as Super box.

Question 22. If You Want To Remove The Run Calendar And Start Times From A Job, How Will You Execute With Jil File?

Answer :

In Autosys, there is a command called date_conditions which enables the run calendar and start time. If date_conditions=1 then the above parameters will be enabled and if date_conditions=0, the parameters will be disabled. Thus, while executing the JIL, date_conditions=0 needs to be set for a job to remove the run calendar and start times

Question 23. Is Machine Name Needed For A Box Job In Autosys?

Answer :

Machine name is not needed for a Box job. Machine name is need for other types of jobs like commands and file watchers. Machine name is primarily required to run the script. Since Box job is the holder of other jobs and it does nothing in the execution process, Machine name is not required for a box job.

Question 24. Deleting A Box In Autosys Explain

Answer :

delete_box: box_name command is used to delete the box. This command will delete all the inner jobs of the box job also. To delete the box job alone leaving its content jobs intact, you have to render delete_job: box_name.

Question 25. Delete A Job In Autosys Explain?

Answer :

delete_job: job_name command is used to delete the job. In order to delete a job, you need to simply give delete_job command. No more commands or attributes are needed for deleting.

Question 26. What Are The System Components In Autosys?

Answer :

• Event server
• Event processor
• Remote Agent

Question 27. Event Server In Autosys Explain?

Answer :

• Event server can also be called as Autosys database (RDBMS). 
• It is the repository unit which stores system information and events, job, monitoring, reporting definitions.
• Autosys can operate in dual server mode. Therefore, if you lose one event server due to hardware/network problems, another server will handle your work without any loss of information or functionality.

Question 28. What Are Different Starting Conditions For Autosys Job?

Answer :

Autosys determines whether to start or not to start a job based on the evaluation of the starting conditions (or starting parameters) defined for the job.

These conditions can be one or more of the following:

• Date and time scheduling parameters are met (it is or has passed the specified date and time).
• Starting Conditions specified in the job definition evaluate to true.
• For jobs in a box, the box must be in the RUNNING state.
• The current status of the job is not ON_HOLD or ON_ICE.

Every time an event changes any of the above conditions, Autosys finds all the jobs that may be affected by this change, and determines whether or not to start them.

Question 29. What Are The Autosys Job Status?

Answer :

Autosys keeps track of the current status of every job. Following are the statuses –

• INACTIVE (IN) - The job has not yet been processed. Either the job has never been run, or its status was intentionally altered to “turn off” its previous completion status.
• ACTIVATED (AC) - The top-level box job is in RUNNING state, but the job itself has not started yet.
• STARTING (ST) - The event processor has initiated the start job procedure with the Remote Agent.
• RUNNING (RU) - The job is executing. If the job is a box job, this value simply means that the jobs within the box may be started (other conditions permitting). If it is a command or file watcher job, the value means that the process is actually running on the remote machine.
• SUCCESS (SU) - The job exited with an exit code equal to or less than the “maximum exit code for success.” By default, only the exit code “0” is interpreted as “success.” 
• FAILURE (FA) - Job exited with an exit code greater than “maximum exit code for success.” Any number greater than zero is interpreted as “failure.” Autosys issues an alarm if a job fails.
• TERMINATED (TE) - The job terminated while in the RUNNING state. A job can be terminated if a user sends a KILLJOB event or if it was defined to terminate if the box it is in failed. A job may also be terminated if it has exceeded the maximum run time or if it was killed from command line through UNIX kill command. Autosys issues an alarm if a job is terminated.
• RESTART (RE) - Job was unable to start due to hardware or application problems, and has been scheduled to restart.
• QUE-WAIT (QU) - The job can logically run (that is, all the starting conditions have been met), but there are not enough machine resources available.
• ON_HOLD (OH) - This job is on hold and will not be run until it receives the JOB_OFF_HOLD event.
• ON_ICE (OI) - This job is removed from all conditions and logic, but is still defined to Autosys. Operationally, this condition is like deactivating the job. It will remain on ice until it receives the JOB_OFF_ICE event. 

Question 30. What Are The System Components Of Autosys?

Answer :

It has server–client architecture and requires 3rd party database or bundled version of Sybase.

1. Event server : Database containing the job definitions and events.
2. Event Processor : The daemon which reads from the event server and sends job stream to the Remote agent.
3. Remote Agent : The Remote agent is the client component of Autosys and will execute the command as defined and write the result back to Event Server.
4. Shadow Processor : The daemon running on the server which takes over from the Event Processor if it is interrupted.
5. 3rd machine : An Autosys Remote agent that acts as the tie breaker if the Event process and Shadow process lose connectivity with each other.